Hell's Return
by Bonded Nerdlings
Summary: They were living a great life- just kickin' it with the team, kicking butt... It was going great- which was why they were getting a bit suspicious. Turns out- always go with your gut... Especially when it's telling you that your best friend might not be as dead as you think. SEQUEL TO TEMPLE'S GUARD
1. Prologue

**Author Note: This account is shared by two people (Clockwork's Apprentice and Spawn of Nerdom) with stories that we are writing together. Third person is written by us, Clockwork's Apprentice will be writing her OC's POVS (Moriko, Reve, and Kato), and Spawn of Nerdom will do her OC's POVS (Alex and Axel)  
~The Nerdlings**

**Title: **Hell's Return  
**Summary: **They were living a great life- just kickin' it with the team, kicking butt... It was going great- which was why they were getting a bit suspicious. Turns out- always go with your gut... Especially when it's telling you that your best friend might not be as dead as you think. SEQUEL TO TEMPLE'S GUARD  
**Genre: **Friendship/Adventure  
**Rated: **T  
**Disclaimer: **_We do not own nor claim Ultimate Spider-Man. We do own OCs- Moriko, Reve, Alex, Kato, Axel. (Axel, Alex belong to Spawn of Nerdom. Moriko, Reve, and Kato belong to Clockwork's Apprentice)_

**Prologue:**

**Third Person:**

The Facility- it was just one word, yet it struck fear into many of the supernatural creatures of the Earth... At least it did t the ones that knew about it. Unfortunately the ones that knew about it also knew it as another word- Hell.

The Facility was just that- a facility. Founded by a small group of people in Australia back in the 1800s after they discovered a baby '_monster.'_While at first they believed it to be a demon or a bad omen, they realized it to be a yara-ma-yha-who. They captured and contained the creature and studied it. Even if they were unable to find the creature's mother nor any other of its species, they knew there must be others out there- other _monsters. _Thus, the Facility was created. Soon, it spread to America and France- setting up Facilities in those areas were the easiest to do.

It was built for the sole purpose of capturing and studying supernatural creatures- that _excluded_ mutants and aliens. They weren't curious about creatures from other worlds. They weren't curious about humans with special abilities. They were only interested in the supernatural, _nonhuman_ species thatlived, bred, and were _made_ on Earth _naturally._ To them, such creatures were truly a marvel- especially since the said creatures have remained hidden from many people, _SHIELD_ and many other governments included.

Yet no matter how hard they tried, the creatures could never hide from The Facility. Did many creatures go unnoticed? Yes. Did a few creatures escape? Possibly.

The creatures, most of them sentient, had a could reason for trying to escape. The Facility did, after all, earn the nickname of Hell. The scientists in The Facility didn't bother learning if the 'monsters' were sentient and they never gave the creatures a chance to prove it. The scientists were always poking, prodding, cutting, beating, electrocuting, and much more to those so-called monsters.

The creatures were believed to not be sentient, to not have a mind. The creatures did have a mind and all of them always had one thought in mind- escaping.

Many creatures... many _beings_ were tortured there. They were held against tier will. They had been beaten and physically strained to their limits and beyond. Many of them died in The Facility- whether it was the one in America, the one in France, or the one in Australia. Each Facility gave hell to its prisoners.

Yet, a few lived- a very small number of the beings were able to escape throughout the years. Those lucky enough to escape barely did so and barely survived. It was hard and it required skill, cunning, abilities, and knowledge that most creatures lacked.

When they got out, the horrors of the Facility... of that _Hell_... still plagued their nightmares and their fears. Even when they escaped, the Facility never left their minds.

Kato was one of those lucky enough to escape- though her closet friend, Moriko, was not... Or at least that was what Kato thought.


	2. A Day In The Life

**Chapter 1- A Day In The Life  
**

**Third Person:**

As the team, plus the twins and Kato walked through the halls of Midtown High School, there was a sort of odd air around them.

Thanks to modern technology, they twins were looking normal. Alex Rogers, adopted daughter of Steve Rogers, A.K.A. Captain America, was wearing her usual combat boots, with a tank top and over shirt that had the buttons undone, and blue skinny jeans, with her black hair put up in a ponytail. Her bangs covered her left eye. Her metal arm looked normal as well. Axel, Alex's twin, was wearing black sneakers and blue jeans, with a black T-Shirt that made a few of his muscles pop out, so of course the girls gossiped about him. He had his black hair in a fohawk.

As they were chatting with one another, the school bully known as Flash Thompson came around.

"Hey, Alex," he said running over.

Kato smirked, and Peter looked horrified. Alex sighed,

"Go on ahead, I'll catch up."

"Okay," Kato said, "But if he asks you out just walk away. That's what happened to me yesterday."

Alex smirked and nodded, watching as they left for the cafeteria.

"Before you ask, no. I will not go out with you."

Flash looked crestfallen.

"W-why not," he stuttered.

"Because you're a bully and dumb as a doorknob, to put it lightly. Besides, I'm dating Danny."

"Well, break up with him then!"

She sighed as people were starting to stare. For mass affect of getting him to leave her alone, she grabbed his shirt collar and pinned him against the lockers.

"I don't like you, and I'm not going to dump my boyfriend for a brute like yourself, so get that through your thick skull."

He gulped and nodded, watching her swaying hips as she walked towards Peter Parker's Table. Alex sat down beside Danny with a sigh. Kato laughed,

"He'll never learn, will he?"

"Yeah," Sam agreed, "How many times has he asked you out Alex? K- I mean, Myra?"

Myra was Kato's alias name at the school. After all, Kato Skrapi wasn't exactly a normal name. So her school records listed her as Myra Jackson- an independent whose parents are always gone on trips.

Both Luke and Danny slipped a hand around their girlfriend's waist as both girls sighed.

"Five," Alex muttered.

"Lucky," Kato scowled, "He asked me out seven times- three of which I was on a date with Luke."

Sam almost spit out his water as he laughed. Luke's grip on Kato's waist tightened slightly in anger. _Yeah he almost ruined the whole evening. _

"So," Kato said, trying to avert attention away from her, "Alex, he actually told you to break up with Danny?"

Alex narrowed her eyes and knowing exactly what Kato was doing, she bounced the attention back to Kato,

"Yeah, but he only asked me twice. How many times has he asked you to break up with Luke?"

Luke turned to Kato with a raised eyebrow as she turned beat red. _Sneaky thing. _Alex smiled triumphantly and Danny sighed. Both Peter and Sam started to bet on how many times Flash had asked Kato to break up with Luke. Peter bet that Kato would say that it was four times while Sam bet it was six. Ava nudged the both of them,

"Will you two stop?"

"It's only ten bucks," Sam protested.

"Fine," Ava huffed quietly, "But I'm in too. I bet that she'll find a way to avert the question."

"No way," Sam whispered, "She can't avert that, at some time she'll have to actually answer it."

Kato would've glared at them if she wasn't covering her beat red face.

"So how many times," Luke asked, scowling.

Luke wasn't nearly as calm as Danny when it came to Flash. A lightbulb flickered above Kato's head as she got an idea. She smirked and looked at Luke,

"It doesn't matter how many times he asks," Kato said smiling, "Because I'll always say no. There's not a single way that I will leave a wonderful boyfriend."

With that, she stood up and went to go get her lunch. Luke smiled to himself, but the second she was gone, he and the others looked to Alex. She raised an eyebrow,

"What?"

"You have good hearing," Sam pointed out.

"So how many times," Ava asked.

Alex smirked,

"Six times. Ever since he started to ask her out."

Sam cheered,

"Woah! Pay up!"

Peter grumbled, but Ava stopped Peter from paying Sam. She took the money instead and then looked to Sam,

"You're right, pay up."

"What? But she said that it was six!"

"No. You _and_ Peter said that _Myra_ would say that it was four or six. It was _Alex_ that told us. And I bet that she would advert answering, which she did. So pay up."

"Dang it," Sam muttered.

* * *

Iron Fist was traveling through the halls of the Helicarrier when he saw a familiar tail disappear into the elevator. He smiled to himself, thinking how funny it was that she ran on all fours instead of two legs like her brother. Having those thoughts in his mind he followed her outside.

Alex's ear twitched as Iron Fist came out. She had expected this soon enough, but she didn't mind. He always followed her out here. She took in a deep breath, glad that there was a full moon tonight.

Iron Fist watched as Alex put her long tawny hair (that now reached to her butt almost) in a ponytail and looked straight up at the night sky, then at him, then the sky again. He walked up to her.

"I wanna show you something," she said, being her blunt self.

He nodded.

"What do you wish for me to see?"

Without saying anything she flew into the air, did a loop, and dove straight towards him. Before he could react he was pulled into the air by his hand, and away from the Helicarrier, going higher and higher by the second. He almost shivered when they went through a cloud, only to find one of the most magnificent sights he had ever seen.

It was the moon. It was big, and full, and bright, making Animal's fur shine. There were also many stars around the moon, giving the illusion that it was even brighter. He smiled, and Alex tilted her head down to look at him.

"I knew you would like it," she yelled over the wind, which pulled her bangs back so he could see her blind eye almost vividly.

"Not as much as I like you."

She chuckled slightly.

"Have you been getting pick-up lines from Power Man again?"

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Perhaps. You are my first love after all."

She grinned one of those rare, beautiful grins.

"You're my first as well."

* * *

Kato smiled as she held hands with Luke. Luke smiled as well as he looked at her through the corner pf his eyes. The night sky shined above them, but they couldn't see the stars because of all the city lights. Still, he knew that no star could ever shine as bright as her eyes.

"What are you staring at," Kato asked playfully as she nudged him.

"Just the most beautiful girl," Luke said as he kissed her softly.

"You're too sweet, ya know that," Kato asked.

"Not as sweet as you."

Kato laughed slightly as they continued their walk. She wondered what the others were doing- it was late, so they were probably sleeping, except for Danny and Alex who were probably on some night flight or a date.

Granted, it probably wasn't a good idea for any of them to be out on a date that late on a school night. Though, a school night was the only night that they really could. Fridays were known as 'super villain take down day', Saturdays were 'Lazy days' that they spent sleeping (well Kato did), and Sundays weren't possible since the day would be a school day.

"Ohh," Kato said as her eyes got wide.

She looked at the fish in the window at the shop.

"Isn't it late for fish," Luke laughed.

"It's never too late for fish and I'm always hungry."

"I know," Luke laughed and Kato gave him a small look.

He gulped,

"Not that it's a bad thing, after all, you have a great figure and-"

"-Keep going," Kato said as she crossed her arms, "You're just digging yourself your own hole..."

"So, how about we go to _Denny's_," Luke suggested, eager to change the subject.

Kato laughed as they hooked arms. She smiled largely,_ man, I'm pretty lucky to have him... Too bad hat Moriko never got to meet him._


	3. On The Prowl

**Chapter 2- On The Prowl:**

**Moriko:**

I kept flying and I didn't care how much it hurt to do so. It was my mission- the most important thing. Besides, I went through a lot of trouble to get this far so I should keep going.

I had a goofy grin on my face as I continued to fly. I was so happy to be free again- to be out of that hell hole... To see Kato again.

Besides, with her, we can take down the Facility once and for all. The Facility was a hell hole- simple as that. It was just hell and it was... horrifying. It was torture... Kato and I spent a lot of years at the one in America- well, she did. My years were spent at the one in France. They were just as worse.

Still, it was in France where I met Reve and she was so helpful- her and her boyfriend, Iopov. She helped us both escape and it was her boyfriend that was able to find Kato for me.

It was imperative that I get to Kato to warn her about the Facility. They were looking for her. Her, Reve, and I- maybe even Iopov- all of us together... we were going to give Hell it's own hell.

Still, at the moment, I was on the prowl for my best friend.

* * *

When I finally arrived in New York, I was frustrated. It was such a bit city- there was no way that I could find Kato. I knew that she was apart of that superhero team with Spiderman or something- I read that online. Yet, how could I find her? How could I summon her? Where would she be?

I looked down at all the little dots- the people. There was so many of them. There was so many tall buildings that it was even difficult for me to fly so high up where I couldn't be spotted. I was so used to the small village and the woods that I had spent my childhood in with Kato. I was used to isolation so being in New York city was bit overwhelming to say the least._ And claustrophobic..._

I crinkled my nose, _and do they realize how much they're polluting Earth? All the smog, the pollution... it's disgusting. _

I felt sick just thinking about it. I spotted a park below and swooped down with grace. It might've been a city park, but it was still a park. It still had trees. It still had _fresh_ air- sort of.

_Now, I just need to find Kato... Unless..._

A wicked grin spread across my face. _She's with a superhero team and just how to summon superheroes? You create a commotion... She's so gonna kill me for this, but it's not like I'm really going to do a crime or hurt someone._

**Third Person:**

It was a bright sunny day in the Big Apple, and it seemed like everything was going almost perfect.

Almost.

The team was fighting the Sinister Six in the middle of Manhattan, which more or less ruined everyone's moods.

Currently, it was Tiger and Kato against Kraven the Hunter, Electro against Nova and Creature, Rhino going toe to toe with Animal, Power Man helping Iron Fist take down the Lizard, and Spidey going against Doctor Octopus.

"Is that all you got, Elephant," Animal taunted as she squeezed his hands harder, forcing him more towards the ground.

"Not even close," he yelled. Animal smirked.

"I was made to kill the Hulk with one hand and strangle Captain America with the other. If you think I'm backing down against _you _then you're wrong."

Rhino was on his knees now, so Animal let go with her left hand and punched him in the face, sending him flying couple feet back. He got up groggily, holding his face in his hand. He growled at her and charged.

Creature, who was fighting Electro with Nova, was kind of having fun messing with him. Of course, all of this electricity he was taking in was not good for his fur. But he wasn't really even trying to fight him. He was only messing with him to distract him from Nova, who had flown high in the air, and was now coming down like the human rocket he was. It kind of reminded him of Johnny Storm, the Human Torch.

Nova slammed his fists onto Electro's shoulders, sending him crumpling to the ground, satisfied at his now broken collarbone.

"Take that, Lightbulb!"

Electro landed with a sickening thud. He high-fived Creature and flew off to help Spider-Man with Doctor Octopus, while Creature went to help his twin.

"Ah, come on, Doc," Spider-Man taunted, "is it really this hard to catch an itsy-bitsy Spider-Man?"

Oc growled and lunged for him again, but Spidey was too fast for him. He dodged all of the arms coming towards him, slowly getting closer and closer to the mad doctor. Oc gasped and growled.

"Spectacular," he exclaimed.

"Amazing!" Spider-Man said, punching Oc in the face.

He stumbled back, and was taken off guard as Nova came up behind him and launched him forward, sending the poor Doctor's face against the cement.

Creature stood by as Animal kicked Rhino in the face.

"I don't know, sis. It looks like you have it taken care of," he said teasingly.

"You've been hanging with Hawkeye to much," she grunted.

Creature laughed slightly and pounced on Rhino's shoulders, sending him back to the ground.

"Now," Animal panted, "You're going to stay down, Elephant."

Before Rhino could bark a her for purposefully getting his name wrong, she kicked him hard in the face, and he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

"I should wear steel toed combat boots more often."

Creature nodded in approval. Then, he stepped slightly to left just before Kraven hit him. Kraven hit the ground with a thud. White Tiger and Kato both shared triumphal grins.

"I always hated hunters," Kato commented.

"Ditto," White Tiger agreed.

"Tall and green and ugly is headin' your way," Power Man called out the warning just as Kato jumped up.

Lizard, who had been hoping to tackle her, growled as she jumped onto his back. Her nails sank into his shoulders as she kept her grip.

"Guys," Kato growled.

"Got it," Spidey said as he webbed Lizard's eyes.

Kato nodded with approval and hit Lizard's head with all of her might, her nails digging in. Lizard hit the ground with a thud.

"Huh," Animal mused, "Your nails must be pretty strong to dig through that skin...scales?"

"Yep," Kato smiled, "Well... Looks like another mission done. Time to relax."

She popped her back just as Spiderman sighed,

"Relaxing will have to wait. Coulson sent another mission. Apparently, there's a newbie in Central Park causing a bit of chaos."

"How," Animal asked curiously, though she was a bit upset since she couldn't smell the new comer since she was too far away.

"Plants- he says it's like a jungle."

A tingle of familiarity spiraled inside of Kato, along with a strange feeling. She forced a smirk,

"Well, let's go see, shall we?"


	4. Attack Of The Killer Plants

**Chapter 3- Attack Of The Killer Plants:**

**Third Person:**

"Out of all the places," Spidey muttered, "Why the park?"

"Well," Kato hissed, "It is outside and if they were planning something like this- I'd rather it be the park than a building, wouldn't you?"

"Touche."

"When Coulson said that there was a forest growing in Central Park, I didn't think he meant this," Nova whined.

All around them were plants- just not the garden variety. Large vines were wrapped around every inch of the park. Grass was as tall as the people. Unknown plants were everywhere. It reminded them of the jungle, but somehow something about the plants seemed different- they seemed potentially dangerous.

As they made their way through the temporary jungle, Kato was on edge. Something about the situation seemed familiar to her, it seemed almost... safe. Perhaps it was because the plants reminded her of her departed friend- especially since the plants were roses.

"Spiderman," a voice called, "Help!"

"No way," Nova whispered, "Is that..."

"Yeah," Spiderman nodded, "That's Norman Osborn..."

The man in question was dangling several feet off the ground. Large thick vines with thorns were wrapped around his body, tightening like a boa constrictor. A large thorn was just inches from his Adam's apple in a seemingly threatening way. He struggled to get out of the vines, but it was to no avail.

"I'll get him," Kato growled as she jumped up to where the man was hanging.

With a few slashes of her claws, the surprisingly thick and stable vines, finally split in two, freeing Norman. Kato jumped down gracefully as Norman landed with a thud. He quickly stood up and straightened his tie.

"Did you see what happened," Spiderman asked, "Who's causing all this?"

"I'm not sure... A woman, I think. I just heard her voice briefly. She's controlling all the plants."

Spiderman nodded. Going unnoticed by each of them, vines slithered to them and then wrapped themselves around the heroes. Norman looked shocked before he ran off.

"Ungrateful little _stulta," _Kato muttered, watching the man retreat.

"I love the way you call people stupid because they're not gonna know what the hell you're saying," Animal told Kato.

Kato smirked.

"You know Esperanto?"

Both twins nodded at that.

"We know every language there is to know. Just a small part of the force that fed info given to us when we were made."

Kato, knowing full well that wasn't a subject neither of the twins felt comfortable talking about, let it drop. Unfortunately, some heroes were a bit thicker than others.

"Oh," Nova said, "Do you mean when you two were underground being taught by one of those-"

"-Yes," the twins snapped at the same time.

They all weren't really used to Axel being cold with them like that, but it was almost a daily basis with Alex. They were dodging and slashing as much as they could, but the vines were like a hydra- cut off one head and more took its place.

"WOAH!" Spider-Man exclaimed as a mutant venus fly trap almost ate him whole. The rest of the team just laughed.

"It makes sense," Power Man said as he took down the killer plant.

"Don't remind me," Spidey grumbled back. Then things got even more tense when the twins stopped running and started sniffing.

"We can smell her," they said at the same time, "She's this way."

As they led the rest of the team through the thick brush, Kato could start to smell the mystery girl too, but almost slapped herself in the face for not realizing it sooner. Before they could go any further, however, giant walls of grass engulfed their side visions.

The twins let out growls as they moved closer together. Everyone, minus Kato, were on edge. Kato looked on the verge of crying or laughing.

"She's leading us to her, I think," Axel stated. Alex nodded in agreement.

"The weird thing is though," she started, "Is that I don't have a bad feeling about who's causing this. Usually I get that feeling even with other heroes, like the New Warriors, which, by the way, none of you join them. They're a bunch of dumb asses that only go for the ratings, but with her, it seems almost...Safe. Not knowing who's doing this but feeling safe about it is most disturbing."

Axel nodded in agreement. It was just their way of thinking. Their brains weren't hardwired for love and cuddles. They were wired for fighting and instincts, and eight times out of ten, they trusted their instincts over anything.

Kato trusted her instincts as well, which was why she started to lead them around the walls gracefully. She could smell her- she could smell that familiar scent of vanilla and lavender. _It can't be... It just can't be... She can't be here, can she? Can she be here... If this is a dream, I don't think I want to wake up..._

Still, the walls seemed to disappear as if they were no longer needed, and they weren't. Kato knew were she was going and she knew that she would be safe. Vicious plants backed away from her, sensing that she was of no threat and that she was a friend. The plants neared the team, but still made no move.

"Don't hurt the plants and you'll be fien," KKato said calmly as she smiled slightly.

"Kato," Power Man asked, "You seem strangely calm..."

"That's because she knows who I am," a strange female voice said.

The team turned and were surprised to see a girl they're age, maybe a bit younger by a year. She had tanned skin with odd tattoos of vines with roses on her thighs, shoulders, and arms. Kato was the only one that knew that the girl would have the tattoos on her stomach as well. The girl's long dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a dragon tail. She wore a dark green kimono with a lighter green wrap around the middle, but she wore no shoes. The oddest thing about the girl was the large angel-like white wings on her back that were stretched out.

"Moriko," Kato whispered.


	5. The Reunion

**Chapter 4- Reunion:**

**Third Person:**

Kato didn't wast any time in tackling Moriko to the ground. She couldn't believe that she was back! _I don't even care how she was back! The only that mattered was that I have my sister back!_

The team seemed surprised and taken back by her actions. _I don't care if she is a ghost or zombie or anything. She's back..._

She hugged her tightly,

"I thought you were dead... You're alive..."

Moriko started to cry slightly, as did Kato.

"Does anyone else feel like they're missing something," Spidey asked.

"I think that's her sister, Moriko, the one she talked about before," Alex whispered to Axel.

Axel nodded in agreement. Kato, however, suddenly had a mood change. She clawed at Moriko's shoulder,

"You were alive! And you didn't tell me sooner!"

Moriko didn't mind the pain since Kato didn't use the poison in her claws. Kato growled warningly, but Moriko just gave a small smile,

"You need to get meds for your bipolar disorder."

"Not bipolar," Kato growled slightly as she let go from Moriko completely.

Kato stood next to Power Man as her boyfriend in question wrapped his arm around her comfortingly.

"This is Moriko," Kato finally said, "My best friend from childhood... I thought she was dead..."

"Yeah," Moriko said as she rubbed the back of her neck, "I have some explaining to do."

"Yes you do," Kato growled.

"Hey, you have explaining to do too," Moriko said defensively, "Like why aren't you in Brazil? Better yet, who are these guys? well, no, I know who these guys are- everyone knows who these guys are. These guys are heroes. What I mean is, why are you _with them?"_

"'Cause I am with him," Kato said, standing closer to Power Man, "and because they offered me a position on the team, I accepted... Now you have some serious explaining to do."

"Well, why don't you change the park back to normal," Alex said, "And we can continue this over pizza."

* * *

"So," Luke asked, "You're a Forested Angel?"

"Yeah," Moriko nodded, "So besides flight with the wings, I can control nature. It's pretty cool. My whole species is pretty in tune with nature. That's why my parents are... were... part of a whole nature reserve thing."

"Speaking of," Kato asked, "Where are your parents?"

"I don't know," Moriko whispered, "I really don't know... I wish I did and trust me, I've looked."

She shrugged with a smile,

"But what can you do, really?"

Kato just nodded sadly.

* * *

"-And I'm telling you right now," Moriko said, "Don't let her get her paws on catnip. She's like a drunken whore on that stuff."

"I am not," Kato protested with a large blush on her cheek.

"Oh you so are, I read the reports from the Facility, curtsey of Iopov's hacking skills, an I am telling you right now, there's nothing funnier than reading the report to which a bunch of scientists agreed to not experiment with catnip on you because of all the sexual reports. You were like a cat in heat, stripped down bare and on all fours- in human form. Naked and ready."

Kato turned bright red at that. Luke's grip around her waist tightened slightly.

"You know," Alex said, a hint of mischief in her eyes, "That reminds me of something really funny. So last week after the whole Hydra invasion thing, Steve was chewing Tony out for some stupid shit he had done during the fight, and says, 'Big man in a suit of armor, take that away and what are you?' And do you wanna know how Stark replied?"

Everyone all looked at her expectantly as Axel burst out laughing. She grinned before answering.

"He ripped off his clothes ans started running around the room screaming 'NAKED!' Now that was some funny shit. You all should have seen Cap's face. I was laughing so hard I would have cried. I think Hawkeye took a picture of him."

Peter looked at her confused.

"Well, why didn't you? Cry, I mean."

Alex shrugged, stiffening ever so slightly.

"No tear glands."

Ava gave her a slightly worried look.

"What happened?"

This time both of the twins stiffened, Alex looking at her eighteenth slice , suddenly not hungry anymore. She set it down carefully, laughing nervously.

"I totally forgot. I promised Steve I would help him with the coffee maker. I got to go."

With that she was gone, and the team turned to Axel expectantly. He rubbed the back of bis neck stress-fully, not really wanting to bring up the painful memories of the past. But they deserved an answer.

"Before we met the Avengers, we, as you know, were made and trained by Ringleader, a skrull, to kill the Avengers. What we never told you...Well...There were five more after us, and...We grew attached- too attached. When we refused to kill them, they were tortured and killed right in front of us. I was too hurt to cry, but believe it or not, Alex was sobbing. You will not tell her I told you this. Anyway, for showing weakness, she had her tear glands taken out and she was the Box for a week."

He visibly shivered at the mention of the Box. It was a room where you couldn't see, hear, smell, or feel anything, and when you were taken out of the room, everything burned. Even the wind, or, for them since their hearing was so sensitive, a flies' wings beat. It was excruciatingly painful, and it was the only thing that the twins feared.

* * *

Alex didn't want to remember. She had loved those kids that she was forced to train. She also felt kind of guilty. It was because of her brother and herself that they never got to see the light of day, or the many (ish) bright stars that illuminated the night sky. It was because of they choices they had made. It was their fault.

Oddly enough, she didn't blame Axel, even though he refused to kill them as well, and she also didn't blame Stark for making her join that dojo three years ago, when most of the students and even a few parents had died. Alex grit her teeth, going into the park ad Alex and coming out as her alter ego, Animal.

She flew straight up, at a frightening speed of almost 160, wanting nothing more than to just forget.

To her, the good part about having a photographic memory was also the worst thing: you remember everything.

She sighed as she landed on the roof of the Avengers HQ, and stepped inside.

"Ready to learn how to make coffee?" She asked Steve, who was flipping through a on the couch.

She hadn't been lying when she said she promised to help Steve with the coffee maker. She just needed to get out of there- and fast.

* * *

"And that's how you make coffee. If you have any more questions with technology without wanting to be made fun of, just give me or Axel a call," Alex said with a smirk. Steve smiled at her, but it instantly fell.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

Alex shrugged.

"Nothing. Why do you ask?"

She had been careful to hide her emotions, waltzing in with her usual emotionless expression, yet he was able to see right through it. Only he and Axel were able go do that, and it still baffled her. She sighed.

"Some stuff came up at the pizza place and it reminded me of them."

"The kids at the-"

"-No. The kids before them. I...I can't help but feel a little guilty that they never got to see the light of day. Thinking about them sends the sharpest f knives into my heart, and I still don't know how to deal with that."

Steve nodded, knowing full well that she was bad at expressing her feelings. It just wasn't the way her brain was hardwired. She had been raised to kill, where feeling emotions was not allowed. Axel was the same way, just not as bad. He gave her a sad look.

"You know it wasn't your fault-or Axel's."

"I know. By the way, have you seen my red thread? I still have too fix Thor's cape."

He shook his head and her brows furrowed.

"Maybe I left it on the Helicarrier. I'll just fix it up there. See ya."

She turned around and waved before stepping out, the cape folded neatly in her hands.


	6. The Stories

**Chapter 5- The Stories  
**

**Third Person:**

Moriko and the team, minus Alex, walked into the debriefing room to discuss what had happened to Moriko in the facility. When they got there they found Alex in her designated chair with Thor's cape in one hand, and a needle in thread in the other. She had her feet on the table and her head back, eyes closed, and ear buds in. Nova smirked.

"Who knew that Alex had a feminine side."

Iron Fist smiled slightly.

"It is nice to see that she is doing something she enjoys."

Axel scoffed at that statement.

"No, she hates sewing. Thor just needs his cape back."

Axel sat next to her and took the cape and needle and started fixing up the huge gaping slash marks that tainted the cape.

"I on the other hand, kinda find it calming. She's not the only one that gets nightmares."

The room fell into an awkward silence as the rest of the team sat down.

"So," Kato said to Moriko, "What exactly did happen while you were in there?"

"Everything," Moriko whispered, "The branch in France looks to us as weapons so that was how we were treated- as mere murderous weapons... They wanted nothing more than for us to kill their enemies. Should we disobey, we were hurt. Should we obey, we were hurt- just not as much. Like the American branch, they did experiment on us- electrocution, vivisection, trying to drown us, finding out what our limits were."

"They go just to our limits," Kato whispered, "Just a notch below our limits so that they don't kill us... I remember thinking sometimes, _wishing_ that they would go just a notch higher just so it could be over..."

Kato shivered in memory and Luke tightened his grasp around her. He had one hand in hers as he rubbed her back comfortingly. Moriko continued,

"I remember," she whispered, "... And they clipped my wings. Wings are sensitive- especially for my people and they clipped them off."

She shivered,

"Anyway, I met Reve and as a Dream Weaver, she's able to communicate to people through dreams or meditation so she got in contact with Iopov, another Dream Weaver, and with his help- we got out and here we are. I just... I had to warn you about the Facility- they're onto you."

Kato looked at Moriko horrified,

"No- no... they can't be, I mean- I got out. I'm done. That's... They can't be..."

Her breathing got a bit labored as every single memory of the Facility entered her mind. Her worst fear came true- they were back and they were after her. Moriko nodded solemnly,

"Yeah, I know... But as a superhero in New York City, I wouldn't say you were laying low... So, I say that you just give up the superhero thing and let's get out of here."

Moriko smiled cheerfully as if she was saying the best possible solution to their problems. Kato just shook her head,

"Ane, I can't do that and you know that. I can't just give this up and I can't leave them."

She motioned towards the team and Luke,

"I have too much here to just get up and leave..."

"I don't know," Luke mused, "Maybe you don't have to leave, just stay low..."

Kato looked at Luke offended and Luke continued,

"I'm just saying, I don't want you getting hurt or worse. If you keep showing up, they're gonna find you so maybe until it breezes over, you should just lay low..."

"Fine," Kato growled.

Though Moriko, Axel, and Alex all knew better- like hell Kato would lay low and let them take on all the missions.

"There's something else too," Moriko stated.

Axel elbowed Alex and she fell to the floor, instantly awake.

"What? What's going on?"

"Just listen," Axel instructed. She nodded, pulling the ear buds out out.

"There's a new person there. She travels from Facility to Facility, always finding new ways to torture you."

"Do you have a name?" Alex asked, growing slightly impatient. Moriko nodded.

"Her name is Ringleader."

You couldn't see it through the fur, but both Alex and Axel paled, eyes widening.

"She's ruthless, and she'll do anything to get what she wants," Moriko continued.

Alex stood up and walked to the door, but was stopped by Iron Fist.

"Why are you leaving?"

She turned away, her eyes going downcast.

"Because I don't need to hear stuff that I already know. And I'm not the only one who feels that way."

She shot a glance at her brother, all of the memories she tried so hard to forget flooding back into her brain.

"Perhaps you and Creature could tell us more about her."

Alex sighed, knowing he was right. She sat back down next to Axel.

"She killed a bunch of kids only to get to us. Like Moriko said, Ringleader will do anything to get what she wants."

Moriko looked at then slightly confused.

"How do you two know her?"

The twins stiffened, their fists clenching.

"She made us," they said simply. At all of their looks, Axel continued.

"We're genetic experiments, and Ringleader is a skrull. She made us in am artificial womb and we came out looking almost exactly like we are now. A couple years after that there are the kids I told you about. Then about another year or two later the Avengers sent a doom bot through the roof. A little while after we started staying with them, we took up some secret identities. I worked at Horizon Labs and Alex worked at a dojo owned by Danny."

"A few months later," Alex said, taking Axel's thunder, "She blew up the dojo. She would have done the same with Horizon but Axel never went back after that. In the explosion I lost my arm. Then, another couple months later we found where they were holed up. Zemo cut his ear off and made me half blind. The only thing I regret about joining the Avengers is the fact that I can't hurt her as much as she hurt them."

Axel stared at Alex in shock. That's the most emotion she's ever showed since the dojo. Kato was still tense, but she managed to nod slightly as Moriko looked on the brink of tears,

"Oh you poor girl!"

Moriko hugged Alex tightly despite the protests. Sam laughed,

"And that's your sister."

"Yep," Kato said popping the 'p', "She's..."

"I'm what," Moriko asked, seemingly innocently, but deadly so.

"Nothing."


	7. The Facility

**Chapter 6- The Facility:**

**Third Person:**

Dr. Kayla Irving stood up straighter as she walked through the dimly lit halls of the Facility. On both sides of here were containment center after containment center since they were in the walls- only seen through the glass- though the sides weren't glass so the creatures didn't see each other.

One creature's head was like a giant skull and it was covered with thick black fur as it ran through its cage. One looked almost human except for the large stitches that covered her face and closed her eyes and lips. One was a small child that was humanoid but had dark brown fur and dog ears with a dog tail. One of the creatures looked like a giant slug. One looked almost like a mermaid inside its water-filled container, but as Dr. Irving passed it, it bared large pointed teeth.

Creature after creature- monster after monster- Dr. Irving barely glanced at them. They were just monsters and no way sentient. So why should she care about them? It was just research..

Each of the creatures brought something entirely new to the table. Some were able to breath under water and above. Some could seemingly control shadows. One used hormones in the air to make everything fall in love with it the second that they caught wift of it. Each one, despite the differences, were a danger to society.

Therefore they were heroes- at least, that was how they looked at it. Not a single creature was sentient so they couldn't exactly talk to it, so they would just lock them up so the creatures wouldn't hurt society. They weren't the bad guys even if they electrocuted the monsters, put them in torture chambers, whipped them, vivisected them, and did many other unimaginable things to them.

There were very few things that happened in that Facility that they didn't agree with- though those things only happened when they hired the wrong people. One of them killed a monster. One raped that red cat-humanoid monster- despite the creature being seemingly only a teenager. One let a monster loose. So each of the guards, scientists, or facility that did those things were suspended or fired.

Dr. Irving shook her head as she entered the conference room. She saw someone there- her contact- waiting at the table with the other higher ups of the Facility.

"Ah, pleasure to meet you," Dr. Irving greeted, "You must be Ringleader."

The woman had pitch black hair, and was dressed in a blood red tail coat with a black bow tie and simple black mask, with matching knee high boots.

"Yes, I am. And you must be Dr. Irving, the mastermind behind all of this."

The doctor nodded as she flipped through her clipboard.

"You're an alien, I see. From the skrull race."

Ringleader nodded.

"Yes, and I know other ways to keep these beasts in their places," she said with a smirk.

Dr. Irving looked up at this, suddenly, a bit more interested.

"How so?"

Ringleader let out a menacing laugh.

"Isolation. A room with complete sense deprivation. There would be no hearing, no seeing, no smelling, no feeling. And when they come out, it will burn them. When they step out of place like that dog creature over there, just put them in for a couple hours or days. They will never step out of line again. The one weapon they can use against you at the moment is their own willpower. Using the sense deprivation chamber, they won't have any left, leaving them completely vulnerable."

The doctor nodded, taking all of this new information in and adding it to her clipboard.

"So," the Ringleader continued, stretching her hand across the table for Irving to shake, "Do we have a deal?"


	8. The Night

**Chapter 8- The Night:  
**

**Kato:**

That night, everything seemed pretty... loose to me. It was like everything wasn't solid or real. It seemed like everything was just a lucid dream and I was just realizing that.

Since SHIELD gave us a house to ourselves (ourselves being the team that doesn't have a home besides the helicarrier) after Axel, Sam, and I teamed up on Fury, we all headed to our own bedrooms. Moriko stayed in the guest room- which I was sure would someday be her actual room if she planned to stay.

Personally, I loved my room. It had so many fluffy things in it I could just die. My bed was very large and had fluffy black blankets and pillows. I had a computer, dresser, closet, and basic room necessities plus a large scratching post and I had about a dozen pillows on my bed. Usually, it was all comforting and warm to me.

It was past one in the morning when I finally stopped pacing in my room to go to sleep. When I plopped down on the bed after changing into just my undergarments, I found no comfort. I was still numb...

Maybe it was just shock, maybe I was just having too much trouble adjusting to the fact that the Facility was back and worse than before... Maybe it was fear from the Facility or from_ him._ _He_ was my old guard at the Facility and for the most part, none of the guards bothered me since I could and would kill them... Yet _he_ came in after I was drugged. _He_ had catnip... _He_ was the reason that I didn't let Luke do anything besides minor touches because _he_ was my rapist and I feared him more than the Facility... Rather stupid to me, but I couldn't help it._ He _made me freeze in terror. I never told anyone about _him_- not Luke, not Moriko, _no one..._ And for the most part she even forgot about it...

Someone knocked on my door and I didn't even bother to sniff the air to figure who it was before I called out,

"Come in..."

The door opened as Luke stepped through the door. Like myself, he was dressed in his pajamas- black sweatpants and no shirt. He seemed only a bit uncomfortable about me being just in my underwear, but by now, most of the house was used to it since I kept forgetting to put on clothes when I went down to the kitchen.

I motioned for lay down in the bed with me and he took up the offer. I was quick to lay my head on his chest and he hesitated before putting an arm me.

"You should be sleeping," I purred.

"So should you... I could hear you pacing all the way in my room. I had to make sure that you were okay.

"I'm just fine," I sighed.

"No you aren't and don't lie to me."

"I'm... scared," I admitted as I moved my body closer to his, "I'm scared about the Facility and what might happen. I'm scared for my life. I'm scared for your life. I'm scared for my sister... I'm scared and I do _not _get scared."

"Everyone gets scared every once in a while," Luke pointed out as he stroked my hair, "That's perfectly normal."

"Not for me..."

"It'll be okay though," Luke said.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

With that, I finally got some peaceful sleep with my man-pillow.

**Axel:**

I ignored the knife that flew out of Alex's door as I opened it. She was more high strung than usual, and I didn't blame her. I was a bit on edge myself.

"Sorry," she mumbled, sitting down on her bed. I shrugged.

"Don't worry about it. I would have done the same thing."

"No you wouldn't. You're not robot enough."

I pushed her stomach first into the bed, ignoring her protests, and began to rub the middle of her back in that spot in between her wings. She began to scratch mine with her foot.

"What if we end up back in the Box, or back to the simple torture? What if...What if they die because of us?"

I was silent. I knew she was scared, and so was I. Us being scared was something to make everyone rethink because we didn't get scared. It just never happened. And when we did get scared. were just to arrogant to say it out loud.

"That proves you're not a robot."

She chuckled slightly, but it was hollow.

"I don't want them to die. To many have already died because of me."

I shook my head.

"Because of her. She killed all of them, not you."

"I might as well have. Either way their blood is on our hands."

I sighed, knowing that Alex wouldn't stop feeling like everything wring that happened to one of her closest friends when she's near is her fault. I did too, just not as much, ans when I did, I found new ways to handle it. We were both just to stubborn. She moved slightly, rubbing her metal arm.

"What if it turns into a blood bath again?"

I thought carefully before answering.

"We're here to prevent that. We're all here to prevent that, and if it happens, we rise from the ashes to do our best the next day."

**Third Person:**

"Anyone mind explaining to me what the hell is going on," Fury demanded.

He crossed his arms and used his one good eye to glare at the team sitting at the table casually in their uniforms. Kato shrugged and leaned her head against Power Man's shoulder as he stroked her hair. She was still worn out from last night and honestly, didn't feel about dealing with anything at the moment.  
As a result, Alex sighed in irritation,

"Didn't we tell you already? The park incident was caused by her," she pointed to Moriko, "Who happens to be Kato's long lost best friend, practically sister, and she came back to warn Kato that the Facility is back and is looking for her and is working with Ringleader and now-"

"-And now you're working on a plan," Fury finished, "Fine. Don't let your work go uncompleted, make sure you train, and we'll call it even."

With that, he left, leaving Coulson in charge of the group like usual.

"What if Kato did get captured again," Nova suggested, "I mean, she can get captured on purpose-"

"-Oh hell no," Kato, Axel, and Alex all said in unison.

"No," Power Man said as he glared, "She's not going back there and especially not willing."

"Just here me out," Nova argued, "With her there, we can keep track of what's going on with them. Otherwise, we're going in blind, right? You never enter a video game without knowing what it's about and who you're fighting, right? So what if SHIELD puts a chip under her skin or something so we know where's she at and where the Facility is and then we follow secretly."

Nova smiled proudly as he puffed out his chest.

"That was the least dumbest thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth," White Tiger said surprised.

The other had similar looks of shock, but Kato and Power Man were still opposed to the idea.

"She's still not going," Power Man said firmly, "The chip might not work. We might lose the signal. We might lose _her_ and she would then be stuck there with Ringleader and the Facility and open for painful experiments."

He wrapped his arm around her waist and looked at Nova and the others with a guarded expression. Kato purred slightly, but then got out of his grasp,

"As flattered as I am that you want to protect me, that may be our only option to get in. Coulson, think SHIELD can whip up a chip like that?"

"Easily," Coulson answered.

"She can't go in alone," Alex said firmly, "That'll be suicide. Moriko and I will go with you."

Moriko smiled cheerfully,

"Of course! I can't leave my ane in there all alone!"

Axel looked at Alex hard,

"What about your fur and arm? Ringleader's gonna recognize you right away."

Alex shrugged.

"I'll ditch the arm, dye my fur, paint my wings, and cut my hair."

He nodded, lips pursed.

"I'll stay up here. Coms would be kind of obvious so the chip will link you guys and myself mentally."

The three girls nodded.

Alex grabbed her army knife out of her boot and cut her choppy long hair so short tat it was a choppy pixie cut, but she left the bangs.

"I need some black hair dye. Lots of it," she told a SHIELD personnel that was standing by the door.

He nodded and ran off. Axel turned to the one that he had been standing next to.

"I need some paint. Red."

He nodded and headed off after his friend.

"You look so weird without your hair up," Nova said.

Alex ran a hand through her bangs.

"Whatever. Once I get everything dyed we start."

With that she was gone. Axel sighed and sunk deeper into his chair, rubbing the tiredness out of his face.

"Everything okay?" Moriko asked. He shook his head.

"No. Nothing's fine. Not when he Ringleader is involved. I'm-we're-just a little more paranoid than usual. Neither of us could sleep last night."

Moriko nodded in understanding.

"It's gonna be okay. After all, Nova-"

"-That's the smartest thing he's ever said. trust me. When it comes to formulating a plan he isn't one to put your trust in."

"Hey!" Nova yelled in protest.

Spider-Man slapped him in the back of his head.

"You know he's telling the truth, Bucket Head."

Nova crossed his arms over his chest and grumbled.

"Well, let's go find their base."

* * *

About two hours later Alex came back, but instead of the red-orange fur and dark blue wings they were used to. she had pitch lack fur with flaming red wings.

"Status."

"We found their base, and you're leaving in five."

"Make it two. The longer we wait the more people get hurt."


	9. Undercover

**Chapter 8- Undercover:**

**Third Person:  
**

"Dr. Irving," a scientist informed, "the creatures have been caught."

"Excellent," she smiled, "Ringleader, care to join me to see the new... _recruits?"_

"I'd be delighted to, " Ringleader smirked evilly.

With that, the scientist lead Dr. Irving and Ringleader through the facility towards two cages that showed their newest monsters.

"I'm pleased that we were able to recapture that one," Dr. Irving mused as she looked at the two cages.

Moriko, in the end, wasn't in a cage as Kato went against it since Moriko could get her wings clipped again. Alex, despite the warning of her wings probably getting clipped, still went through with the plan.

Alex sat in a large cell, her now short hair covered her eyes slightly as she snarled. Kato was in the nearby cage in Katojns form- her dark red fur covering her entire body and he tail swishing back and forth as she hissed.

"Hmmm," Ringleader said as she looked at Alex, "Interesting..."

Alex tensed in fear- did Ringleader possibly recognize her? _No, she can't..._ When Ringleader said no more, Alex relaxed ever so slightly. Kato growledas Dr. Irving looked her over,

"Its still in good condition- both of them are. Good, Ringleader, what do you propose to put them in first?"

"Send the overgrown cat," she said pointed to Kato, "to the experimentation room. Electrocution or possibly vivisection might be best. It's better to _ease_ into the worse tortures... Send the other one to... The Box. It can be the first of many here to try it out."

Ringleader had a nasty smile on her face as Alex's eyes widened in horror. Kato was slightly more relaxed that she would be going through an easier torture, but she still feared for Alex.

_Guys, anytime soon for you to come here might be nice,_ Kato thought.

_We still need a bit more time, _Axel pitched in and Kato tensed.

_Well shit._

* * *

"This isn't right," Power Man growled, "We need to get in there now."

"Agreed," Iron Fist said as he clenched his fists, "We shouldn't let them suffer for the cause of finding out more about the Facility."

"They knew what they were getting into," Axel pointed out, even if he didn't let it himself, "And we could've always thought of another plan if they weren't entirely up for it... Still, we just need to wait a little bit longer."

"For what," Moriko screeched, "_Ane_ is in there!"

"And so is my sister," Axel snapped, "but we have to figure out where the central control room in the Facility is so we can take it down- no power equals weaker security... Plus we still have to figure out how to bust in. Now _be quiet."_

The team was silenced and then knew that Axel was right- still, it was unsettling as screams were heard on the coms.

* * *

Kato screamed and hissed as the scalpel cut into her stomach. Her hands were secured above her head by specially made metallic restraints and her feet were in similar restraints. She was laid down flat on her back on the 'operation' table.

"We should give her sedatives," one of the scientists explained.

"No, you heard Dr. Irving. It needs to learn to not escape again."

Kato managed to stifle her screams as they continued to cut into her. It wasn't the first thing that they did- no, they made sure to beat her first. Her body was already marred with scarps, cuts, and bruises from electrified whips, classic whips, and other means. It was payback for escaping and now as the continued to vivisect her, they continued to 'teach' her not to escape by no using the numbing.

"Heart is functional," one of the scientists explained and her breathing became labored, "beating rather fast... Stronger than a human heart. Lungs are larger than a normal humans- made for running I suppose... Close her up, she's not going to last much longer in this state."

Kato didn't have the strength to scream as they stitched up all the incisions. It wasn't the worse thing that they did, but it still hurt... And she knew there was more to come before the team would 'rescue' them so that they can take down the facility.

Taking down the facility was the only thought that kept her going... That, and the thought of being with Luke.

* * *

Alex fought the entire way to the Box. It was the only thing she was afraid of, and she loathed it, and Ringleader, with a passion.

Since she only had the one arm, they couldn't exactly put her in cuffs, but they did manage to get her wings pinned to her back. She slashed at one guard, cutting his protective suit to pieces. Much to her displeasure, she let the other guard use an electrical whip on her. She cried out on pain, and sent herself to her room. she needed to make it believable.

Ringleader walked in front of her casually, stopping just a couple inches from her face. Ringleader lulled her foot back and kicked Alex in the face, sending her flying back a couple of feet away.

She didn't bother getting back up, so they dragged her to the Box. She felt ashamed for not fighting back as she was strapped to the metal table. Ringleader was the last one to leave, and before she encased Alex in the darkness, she turned to her.

"Sweet nightmares, 23."

Alex's eyes widened in shock as the door slammed shut, draining all of her senses in a split second.

_Guys, _she thought to the others, _They have the Box._

* * *

Axel's eyes widened as be got Alex's message. It sounded like she was in pain, but he knew she was just scared out of her mind. He couldn't blame her. The Box was their own personal hell. Axel grit his teeth, his grip tightening.

"Damn it!"

Moriko put a hand on his shoulder to calm his seething rage.

"If you guys survived it once, you can survive it again. She's strong, I can tell."

He nodded, calming down slightly. She was okay. He had to believe she was okay. Luke had to believe the same thing with Kato- though her com link was mostly filled with curses and screams. For the most part, she managed to keep her screams from going through, but he knew that she was still screaming even if it was mostly silent.

* * *

_Fucking hell, bloody bleeding hell, motherfucking shit, _Kato hissed as the electric whip hit her sides again and caused her to cry out.

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself as they pushed her back into her cage. Her stomach was marred with the stitches from the vivisection. Her fur was bloodied and limp, not revealing the bruises against her skin. Cuts covered her whole body and her breathing became a bit shallow.

She looked over to the other cage and spotted Alex hunched over with her hands over her ears, almost to the point of screaming, and she was shaking uncontrollably. Kato could only hope that they weren't there for much longer._  
_

* * *

_Fucking hell,_ Kato's com link came through, _bloody bleeding hell, motherfucking, shit..._

Moriko smirked- that was defiantly Kato, the same kitty that tended to say every curse in the book if she was under pressure, pain, or down-right pissed. Still, her stomach was unsettled since Kato was going through pain- but like she told Axel- she survived it once, she can do it again...

At least Moriko hoped so...


	10. Undercover Part 2

**Chapter 9-Undercover Part 2  
**

**Alex:**

I couldn't stand the pain. It had only been about ten minutes after Kato got back, and I couldn't even uncover my ears. The effects from only a short time in the Box lasted extremely long, and the effects of being in the Box for a week was even more painful. I should know. It's happened to me before.

I winced and covered my ears more as a couple more guards came in and opened the cage. I didn't budge. It hurt just to be sitting down. And when they talked in a normal inside voice it felt like they were screaming directly into my ear with a megaphone.

One of them grabbed me roughly by the arm and I hissed in pain, trying to scoot closer to the inside of my cage. I felt even more ashamed, because now, I was being a coward.

He sighed and backed out of the cage.

"She won't budge," he said. His friend sneered.

He lunged into the cage and yanked me out, enjoying every bit of my pain. He took out his rod and electrocuted me. I howled in pain.

I stayed in my ball until I was a safe distance away from Kato and the others. Then I attacked. Besides, Ringleader already knew, so what was the point in hiding it?

I kicked electrocution guy in the face with my heel, wincing at the pain, and turned around and punched the other guy in his gut. As he was hunched over in pain I brought his head down to my knee. Then I ran. After all, I had a mission to fulfill, and I couldn't do that from a cage.

It took me three hallways and one dead end to finally find the control room. I almost cheered, but then I was tackled by about ten guards. I still wasn't back to my full strength, so I couldn't just throw them off like I could Hulk every now and then. The ones at the bottom of the pile started yelling in my ears as best as they could. I screamed, making it even worse, but I couldn't help it. Everything was so sensitive at the moment.

_Control room, West wing, _I told the team. I got no reply back as I was forced into a pure white room with a bunch of doctors and heart machines.

**Third Person:**

They all winced at Alex's cry of pain, and her breathing became more labored. Nobody had ever heard that horrid song come from her lips. Not even Axel, and it scared him almost as much as the Box did.

"Alex!" He yelled.

He started to type mad fast on the keyboard in front of him, ignoring the team's-and mostly Iron Fist. He cared deeply for Alex, Axel knew that, and if he let his sister die, he would be blamed not only by them but by himself as well.

Moriko clutched her stomach, memories flooding back into her mind. Tiger gave her a quizzical look.

"Everything okay?"

She shook her head.

"No. That scream is one of pure pain and suffering... If they're vivisecting after the Box, with its side affects..."

She left the sentence dangle in the air. Axel's and Fist's eyes widened in horror at what Moriko said.

"I got what we need," Axel said, "We're leaving in two."

* * *

Kato curled into a ball with her hands over her ears. She couldn't even focus on what the others were saying on the com link. Everything was on overdrive and she couldn't concentrate on anything... _Too much... Too much..._

To make matters worse, her wounds from the vivisection were reopened and not stitched back up properly again. The pain felt as if it was ten- no _twenty_ times worse. She overheard the scientists. They were trying two different methods- wounds inside the Box after vivisection and doing vivisection after The Box. Alex had the displeasure of being the experimental one to go into the Box and then vivisection while Kato had the displeasure of being in the Box with her vivisection wounds reopened.

_Too much, too much...Can't think... Can't think..._

She gripped her chest as the blood continued to seep through. She lost about a liter of blood so far and she better not loose another liter- if she lost any more than two liters, there would be no way for her to survive without some intervention from some divine power.

"AHH," She cried out and then regretted it as the cry echoed back to her ears.

It was ten times louder than it should've have been. She gripped her ears with one hand and her other hand was over her chest, ignoring the blood that covered her hand. She only hoped that the others would get there soon...

_Help...Oh Dio, help..._

* * *

_Too much, too much... Can't think... Can't think..._ came over Kato's com link.

Power Man's fists clenched tightly as they made their way through the Facility. The power was shut down- as much as they could without releasing the other creatures. They were trying to find Kato and Alex.

"Go," Axel ordered.

_The Box is... to the left..._ Alex sent over the link.

Power Man nodded and ran off, leaving the others to get Alex. The sooner their team would be whole again then the sooner that they could go after Ringleader and Dr. Irving. Power Man ran to the left, running as fast as he could.

_Help,_ Kato sent over the link, _Oh Dio help..._

He smashed through the door to the Box and Kato cried out and covered her ears desperately.

"Too much noise..."

Power Man ran to her side,

"Oh gosh, Kato," Power Man whispered horrified.

He ran to her side and she winced at every single noise he made. He gently touched her shoulder, but she pulled away and fell to her back, hissing. It was only then that he saw the reopened stitched wound that went from her naval up to her breasts.

She hissed at him and then winced,

"Too much...," she whispered.

"Kato," Power Man whispered, "Come on... We have to get out of here..."

She looked at him with teary hopeful eyes and allowed him to carefully help her stand up. He kissed her gently. With that, they were on their way to find the others.

_Got Kato,_ Power Man informed over the links, _Where are you?_

_With Alex, the vivisection room..._

* * *

Alex cried in pain as the door burst open with a loud bang. However, sbe was unable to cover her ears. Her hand and feet were still strapped to the table.

She couldn't even open her eyes. Instead she had them squeezed tight, but with her nostrils on overdrive, she knew who it was before they even got into the room. Axel and Iron Fist released her after taking out the guards and the doctors, who hadn't had a chance to stitch her up yet. Axel swung one of her arms around his neck and picked up her legs with the other. Alex hissed in pain.

"Sh," Axel said so quietly he could barely hear himself, "It's fine. We're here now."

Finally she peeked open her good eye ever so slightly and nodded, burying berself deeper into his chest.

"Everything hurts," she whispered. He nodded as he ran out to the small jet they had come in. When they got there, Luke and Kato were already there.

The team stared in shock as both girls curled up into balls, putting their hands over their ears. Axel walked up to one of the medics.

"Patch them up but be very quiet and gentle. Their senses are on hyper-drive right now, practically anything you do could hurt them."

He nodded and relayed the instructions quietly to the other doctors, and the team was off again.

Creature seethed as he found Ringleader blocking their entrance with a small army. He hissed at her.

"Oh, 24, so good to see you again," she taunted, "I hope you're not going to be as much of a disappointment as 23 was. Your time with these puny heroes has made you softer."

Creature grit his teeth. She still called them by 23 and 24, the labels they had before they chose their names. He hated it as much as Alex.

His eyes widened at the thought of his half-dead sister, and he roared at her. It sounded like several different animals all roaring out their battle cries. Many of the guards started shaking in fear, and the other half stayed their ground. A few people even ran away. But Ringleader just pissed him off more.

She let out a mock yawn and started clapping slowly, walking towards them.

"If it's a fight you want, then a fight you shall have."

* * *

Power Man held Kato's hand as the doctors stitched her up as Iron Fist did the same with Alex. They motioned for the others to go help Axel with Ringerleader and Dr. Irving. Moriko, however, stayed behind as she didn't want to leave Kato's side- not again.

The Kato and Alex were moved to an operation room to be worked on and the doctors were frantic to get it done quickly- mostly because the heroes' presence scared them than the monsters that they usually dealt with.

"Shh," Iron Fist said as he held Alex's hand, "You'll be alright."

Alex just glared at him as the doctors fixed her up.

"W-We didn't know that the creatures were sentient," one the doctors gulped as they worked.

"Sentient or not, it's wrong," Power Man snapped and Kato winced. He looked at her sadly,

"Shhh you'll be okay."

"I hope so," Kato managed to gasp out, "... Hot damn."

"Ditto," Alex muttered.

The two girls hissed in pain as the doctors continued their work, pain shooting up through their bodies. Soon, however, they were able to stand up fully with their vivisection wounds stitched up.

"Y-you shouldn't move around too much," one doctor advised.

"Like that stopped you from continuing your experiments," Kato spat, "You all are _egoisma stulta bastardoj,"_

"Selfish idiotic bastards," Alex translated, "And I have to agree..."

"Wanting to learn about our species is alright and curiosity is natural... Capturing us by force to experiment is not," Kato said with narrowed eyes.

"Moriko, watch the doctors," Kato ordered, "We'll go after the special doc and Ringleader."

"No," Iron Fist and Power Man argued.

"You," Power Man shook his head, "Are going to the hellicarrier with Alex. You're not getting injured any farther. SHIELD will take care of every single worker here and probably return some of these...species... to their proper homes and properly take care of the rest."

Alex and Kato shared a nod, agreeing with the boys, but as soon as they made it out to the hall, Alex had run off after Ringleader. Iron Fist ran after her.

"I thought you'd be the first to run," Power Man noted.

"Let's see," Kato mused, "Go to the hellicarrier and heal with you as my personal nurse or go help take down the Ringleader... As much as I'd like to help, I just can't... Not in this condition. My pride is more wounded than my body."

Power Man nodded in understanding. He carefully picked her up bridal style and she wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her head into his chest.

_One thing's for sure_, Kato thought, _my respect for Alex is now at least existent and growing._

_I heard that,_ Alex sent over the com link.

* * *

Alex stopped just a few yards away from the fight. The team was locked jn cimbat with the guards, and Axel with Ringleader. She snarled and crouched down as Iron Fist ran up beside her.

"You should be resting," he said.

She shook her head.

"You know I can't do that. Not until Ringleader is gone."

Iron Fist looked at Alex with a worried expression, thinking she might actually kill the alien. Then, without a warning, she leaped up, and pounced on ringleader, taking her away from Axel.

Alex was throwing as many lunches as she could, doing anything to keep Ringleader in the ground.

"You. Hurt. Them!" She yelled, throwing a lunch to match each word.

She didn't even give Ringleader a chance to speak back.

"You almost killed her! I won't let you do it again!"

Animal hopped off of Ringleader and threw her into a nearby tree, her anger taking over, blocking out all of the immense pain she felt.

"You stuffed Kato in the Box. You vivisected her and Moriko. You're not getting away until you pay for hurting my family!"

She lunged at Ringleader, throwing a barrage of kicks and and punches that Ringleader was to slow to dodge. Finally she stopped, letting Ringleader fall to the ground. Animal picked her up by her throat, wanting to crush her wind pipe so badly it hurt. Instead, she threw the skrull up in the air and kicked her so hard she was unconscious before she even hit the ground.

Animal, ignoring the cheers from her team, ran inside to the control room.

Creature ran after Animal, as did Iron Fist, while Nova and Spider-Man looked after Ringleader. They caught up with her at the control room, following the carnage that she had made on her way there.

Animal sent her fist into the main controls, shutting down all security systems, including the locks on the cages, setting all of them free.

Creature smirked, but it was soon wiped away as Alex began to bleed again. However, she seemed completely oblivious to it as she fell to the ground with a thud, her breathing turning shallow. Axel picked her up carefully.

"Dumbass," be whispered, walking back outside to see SHIELD arresting Ringleader.

Nova, Tiger, and Spidey needed some medical attention.

"It's a nice sight to see so many happy faces," Axel said. Fist nodded in agreement.

"Indeed. It is the reason I stay a hero."

Axel smirked.

"It's the reason we're heroes. So how about that meditation thing you were telling me about last week?"


	11. Recovery

**Chapter 10- Recovery:**

**Kato:**

As I laid in the hospital room, still in recovery even after two weeks, many thoughts ran through my mind. Looking to my left, I saw Luke sitting in a chair beside my hospital bed. Luke really cared for me- after all that happened, that much was painfully obvious and it made my heart swell with joy since I cared about him too- so very much so.

Looking to my right, I saw Alex still in her hospital bed since we were hospital roomies... Well we _were._ She was actually getting out of the hospital today so while she laid in the bed, she wasn't under the covers and she was fully dressed unlike me who had to wear the thin, crappy hospital gown.

It was still hard to believe that Alex cared that much. I knew she came across as too arrogant or cold- heck, I thought she was arrogant when I first met her... But the thing was, it wasn't that she didn't care, she cared _too much._ She truly was like a sister to me- as was Moriko and Ava. We were all one big family- screwed up, but still functional.

Well, Luke was more than a brother to me just as Danny was more than a brother to Alex. _Hehe, they're also our boyfriends and one day they might even be our lovers..._

I looked over to Luke, who choked on air as he turned red. Danny looked mildly uncomfortable and Alex looked at me amused. Moriko, the only other person left in the room, laughed.

"You said that out loud," Alex informed.

"How much?"

"From _'Luke's more than a brother'_ to _'they might even be our lovers.'"_

I gave her a cheeky smile before I innocently sipped on my strawberry slushie to avoid continuing the conversation.

"I'm just glad you're okay," Alex continued, "I... I'm sorry that Ringmaster put you in the Box and that your wounds were left open while you were in there..."

"Don't be," I said with a sad smile, "It's not your fault. I'm sorry that the Facility decided to vivisect you after you went into The Box."

"Don't be," Alex repeated, "It's not your fault."

We both smiled cheekily at each before Luke grabbed my hand and I gave him a kiss.

"Well, I think we'd better leave the love birds," Moriko said teasingly, "Alex, Danny, you coming?"

Alex and Danny nodded and followed her out, leaving me alone with Luke- who was still blushing.

"I was worried about you," Luke finally said as I looked at him curiously, "You know that right? I was so worried that you... I thought you were going to die..."

"I'm still alive," I pointed out, "but... It's sweet you care."

I went to kiss his cheek, but he dodged me. I frowned as he sighed,

"No, you don't get it... I thought you were going to die, especially since by the time I got you to SHIELD, you lost two liters of blood, another half liter and you would have..."

He clenched his fists,

"You would have _died_ Kato."

"It wouldn't have been the first time," I muttered darkly.

"Don't say that," Luke snapped, "Don't you dare say that... I just... It was scary. It still is because I don't want to loose you, Kato."

"I don't want to loose you either," I finally replied after a few moments of silence.

We stared at each other for a second before we embraced. He hugged me tightly,

"It was so hard to hear your screams through the com link and hear you begging for help... I don't ever want to hear that again..."

"I hope you won't have to," I replied as I kissed him softly.

It didn't take that long before our kiss progressed- starting with just a simple kiss and it ended with our tongues wrapping around each other and his hands roaming my body.

I wasn't sure how long we made out like that- groping included. Before we finally peeled away from each other, breathless, and I realized that I wasn't scared of touching anymore- not with Luke.

_"I'm ready to go all the way with you,"_ I whisper_._

He looked at him with slightly glazed over eyes,

"When you're out of the hospital," he finally said firmly.

_His voice isn't the only thing that's firm... Hot damn..._

**Alex:**

"I really hope she remembers the com links are still on," I muttered as I headed out with Danny.

Axel had been waiting by the door, talking to Moriko. When we stepped out, he said goodbye and joined us. He wrangled his arm around me, pulling me into a choke hold and rubbed the top of my head with his knuckles. I glanced at Iron Fist who gave us an amused expression.

Without saying anything, I flipped him over and put him in the same hold. He slammed me into the wall, making me lose my grip, and he was free again.

"You fart sniffing fetus muncher," I snapped. He laughed.

"You've been hanging out with Gear too much. Anyway, I'm gonna go catch up with Moriko. See ya."

I watched as he ran to catch up with Moriko.

"He so has the hots for her," I told Danny.

He nodded, amused.

"Well," I said, glancing down at my invisible watch, not bothering to actually turn it visible, "Wanna head up top? It's almost sunrise."

He nodded again, and we started moving towards the elevator. I couldn't help but feel happy, truly happy. It was a nice feeling that you got in your chest, and I never wanted it to go away.

_"~I can see clearly now, the rain is gone~" _I sang, as we finally reached our destination.

He smiled at me, coming closer to wrap his arms around me. We stayed silent like that for a good five minutes, just rocking back and forth to the beat of the wind.

"I thought you were gonna die," he suddenly said, letting go of me. I looked at him concerned.

"It takes a lot more than that to kill me and you know it. Besides, I'm more worried about Kato."

"You worry too much."

I shook my head.

"I care just the right amount. If I don't then they might die because of me. Just like the kids."

Iron Fist looked at me a little sternly.

"You did not cause them to die. Ringleader did. Also, you could have died. You never think you will because you were trained not to, but it could happen."

I walked over yo the edge and hung my legs over the side.

"If I'm doing something worth dying for then the only regret I would have is not being able help more people. You know how people say that the meaning of life is forty-two?"

He nodded, obviously confused on where I'm coming from.

"Four in Japanese means shi, and two means ni. Shinigammi means God of death, shini means death. Therefore the meaning of life is death itself. We're all going to die one day, and I've lived my life to the fullest. The only people who would miss me are you, the team, and the Avengers. But we've all accepted that we might die one day. We don't like it, but we've accepted it. Especially in this line of work."

He nodded, sitting down beside me.

"Well, we don't need to think about death now. We can just enjoy the moment."

Before he could go any further I smashed my lips onto his.

"Yeah," I said, pulling away for just a second, "Let's enjoy the moment."

**Axel:**

I smiled to myself as Alex walked away with Danny. I was happy that she finally found someone she card about more than family. Speaking of which...

"Hey, Moriko, how's it going?"

She turned back around with a giant grin on her face.

"Hey, Axel. What's up?"

I started to heat a little bit. She had been the first girl I had ever liked like that, and I had no idea how to ask her out. She looked at me with a worried look.

"Is everything alright?"

I nodded hastily.

"Y-yeah, yeah. I was just wondering..."

Her face turned to confusion.

"What is it?"

"Do you...Do you wanna go out for a coffee...Or something?"

A smile tugged at her lips as she linked her arm in mine.

"I would love to."


End file.
